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Hemantasena

Type Figure Region India Time c. 1050–1096 Also known as Hemantasena、Hemanta Sena、Hemanta Sen

Hemantasena was an early leader of the Sena family in Bengal, son of Samantasena and father of Vijayasena, active in Radha in the second half of the …

Timeline

  1. 1050–1090Radha · West BengalThe Sena family claimed descent from Brahmin Kshatriyas of Karnataka. Samantasena spent his later years on the banks of the Ganges. His son Hemantasena gained local power in Radha as Pala authority was shaken by vassal rebellions. Vijayasena's Barakpur copper plate calls him 'protector of kings' (rajaraksasudaksah), so the Bengal Encyclopedia infers he was a vassal of the Pala Empire rather than an independent emperor who had already unified Bengal.
  2. c. 1095–1098Radha · BengalLater Sena inscriptions posthumously awarded Hemantasena titles such as Maharajadhiraja. Independent Sena kingship was established by his son Vijayasena: the Bengal Encyclopedia places his long reign at c. 1098–1160 and notes that the unification of Bengal came only in the mid-12th century, after the expulsion of the Palas and the Varmans. Writing that Hemantasena 'formally founded the Sena dynasty and ruled until 1095' exceeds what existing inscriptions can support.

Sources